Quality Physical Therapy Treats the cause, not merely the symptoms

So what’s the secret to receiving quality physical therapy?

Treatment provided by highly skilled, registered physical therapists trained to constantly re-evaluate your progress and adjust your treatment accordingly… That’s the secret to quality physical therapy

Assistants and aides generally deliver modalities and cannot re-evaluate your problem and adjust the treatment accordingly.

Only a registered, trained professional can deliver the hands-on techniques and supervised exercises you need to treat the cause of your injury and truly heal it.

At Challenge Physical Therapy you will not be treated by aides or assistants, as we don’t employ them. Your treatment – your recovery- will be in the hands of highly trained and skilled registered physical therapists.

What is Joint Mobilization?

Joint Mobilization is a manual hands-on therapy technique that requires advanced understanding of and training in the treatment of joint dysfunctions. Joint dysfunctions are one of the most common causes of painful, debilitating symptoms. Treating them with joint mobilization can have profound healing effects.

The physical therapists at Challenge Physical Therapy have at least Master’s Degrees in Manual Therapy (joint and soft tissue mobilization).

What is Soft Tissue Mobilization?

Soft tissue mobilization uses such techniques as:

• Myofascial release
• Soft tissue release/deep tissue massage
• Contract/Relax
• Strain/Counterstrain and other positional release techniques

These techniques help restore circulation, decrease inflammation, restore and improve mobility,decrease pain and joint dysfunction as well as restore normal movement.

What is therapeutic exercise?

At Challenge Physical Therapy we are very specific about using the exact exercise your body needs to regenerate the tissue causing your problem. We use:

• Medical Exercise Training (MET)
• Scientific, Therapeutic Exercise Progressions (STEP). This technique is very specific to help determine the perfect number of repetitions and weight you should be using.

Exercise is used to:

• Mobilize and stabilize joints
• Increase strength & endurance
• Regenerate your damaged tissues
• Increase tolerance for your activities of daily living

As a supplement to your clinical exercise program, your Challenge Physical Therapist will design an individualized home exercise program for you. It typically includes stretching and strengthening exercises as well as self adjustment techniques you can use to help decrease pain by yourself. The home exercise program will help ensure the gains made during the clinical treatment sessions are maintained.

Exercise is the ONLY way you can regenerate your musculo-skeletal tissues!

What’s the difference between a

Physical Therapist and a

Personal Trainer?

The only similarity between a personal trainer and a physical therapist is that we both use exercise when working with our clients/patients.

A lot of people think physical therapists only do rehabilitation, i.e. after injury or surgery. It is true that physical therapists do rehab, but we are also the most highly trained, licensed professionals for teaching fitness.

Physical therapists graduating from physical therapy schools today have doctorate degrees (DPT), and then pass a State Board Examination. It is also required that we take continuing education courses.

There is no standard education required to become a personal trainer. Some have a lot of education and others have very little.

There is no licensing required to become a personal trainer. There are certification programs available for personal trainers that vary in length from a weekend course to a few months. So education and licensing requirements are not comparable.

Hopefully, one would see a physical therapist for the exercise required to heal an injury. The advantage of working with a physical therapist is that we can do the above AND we are also highly qualified for helping one get fit, strong, healthy and look great!

Physical therapists can evaluate and treat for pain and or dysfunction which may be preventing you from tolerating exercise. Physical therapists understand joint function. This is very important, as it allows us to understand how using certain muscles can pull a joint out of alignment and other muscles can help keep joints in alignment, avoiding joint injury and dysfunction. Personal Trainers do not have this type of education.

The cost of working with a physical therapist is usually about the same as working with a personal trainer. It’s in your best interest to work with a licensed professional.

Additional Information

“A Good Faith Estimate”

Patients have the right to receive “A Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your physical therapy care will cost. Patients who don’t have insurance or choose to pay out of pocket for services can receive an estimate of the total expected cost of the services and or equipment.

You can ask your healthcare provider for A Good Faith Estimate in writing at least one day prior to or before you schedule your physical therapy session. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your estimate you may dispute your bill.

Make sure to save a copy or photo of your Good Faith Estimate. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate visit

www.cms.gov/nosurprises or call (209) 576-0888.

COVID 19

How we protect our patients and staff:

Cleaning

All tables and equipment that patients and staff contact will be cleaned with medical grade disinfectant after each use. Staff members will wash their hands before and after therapy. Tables and equipment will be deep cleaned at the end of each day.

Screening

Front door temperature tests for signs of fever will be given to all persons entering the facility. CDC guideline questionnaires will be given to patients and staff.

Distancing

All patients will be kept 6 feet away from each other.

Masks

All staff and patients will wear masks of high protective value. Single use masks will be provided when necessary.

Scheduling

Scheduling will be done in a manner which supports social distancing.

Our therapists have been vaccinated and boosted for COVID 19.